Category Archives: 1987

Welcome back as we conclude this week’s countdown! It has been fun getting back into this. There are some classic songs in this top 10. Again, you can click on the album cover to get the song from Amazon, and you can click on the song title to watch the video on YouTube. WARNING: If you click on the #3 song title, you can’t unsee or unhear that song! Now, let’s Return to the U.K. for the week ending July 12, 1987, and wrap up this week’s countdown!

This is my favorite song of the countdown by far! I cannot believe that this didn’t even chart in the U.S. I had never heard of it until I bought Heart’s The Road Home album (1995). I instantly fell in love with the song, and looked more into it, and found out that it was an ’80s song by Australia’s John Farnham. There are several versions of this song, and every one of them is really good.

This song was the lead single off of Richard’s Always Guaranteed album. I like all of his songs when they appear on these countdowns, yet I still don’t own anything by him. I’ll have to rectify that. Or at least add him to some of my Spotify playlists.

We are back to continue the countdown! So far, this has been pretty cool. On today’s list, there are some very familiar songs to everybody. And there are some that we may have never heard before. And there are two songs with very familiar titles, but totally different from what we would expect. As usual, you can click on the song title to listen to the song on YouTube, and you can click on the album cover to get the song from Amazon. Now, let’s Return to the week ending July 12, 1987 in the U.K., and continue the countdown!

Not to be confused with the hit song by the Thompson Twins, this ballad by the Irish singer, Johnny Logan, was the winner of the 1987 Eurovision Song Contest. Never released in the U.S., this song was a top 5 song in most of the European countries, with the exception of Switzerland, where it peaked at #6.

Broken English was a British band formed in 1987 by Steve Elson (singer and guitarist), who at the time performed in a Rolling Stones tribute band. You can totally get that vibe from this song. It sounds like it could be a Rolling Stones song.

This was the 3rd single released from Billy Idol’s Whiplash Smile album. This song also appeared in a Miami Vice episode, which automatically gives it a Cool factor, as if Billy Idol isn’t enough for that.

Mel and Kim were sisters Melanie and Kim Appleby. Sadly, Melanie died of cancer in 1990 at the age of 23. She bears a striking resemblance to Maya Rudolph. This was the third single released from their debut album, F.L.M.

This is a pretty cool tribute to the R&B legend, Smokey Robinson. Robinson was still going strong at the time. In October of 1987, in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100, Robinson’s hit, “One Heartbeat”, was in the top 10 along with this tribute song to him.

Back to a song familiar to the U.S. audience. This was the second single released from Whitesnake’s classic 1987 self-titled album. What an awesome rock ballad! It would reach #9 in the U.K., and #2 in the U.S.

That wraps up today’s list of songs. Come back tomorrow as we see what the biggest hits were in the U.K. this week in 1987!

Hi Everybody! Welcome back to this week’s countdown! Some things that happened around this time were:
– Martina Navratilova earns 8th Wimbledon singles title with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Steffi Graf
– Also at Wimbledon, Pat Cash of Australia scores his only Grand Slam singles success 7-6, 6-2, 7-5 over Ivan Lendl
– A’s 1st baseman Mark McGwire becomes first rookie to hit 30 HRs before the MLB All-Star Game
– Nazi Klaus Barbie, “Butcher of Lyon” sentenced to life in France
– Kitty Dukakis reveals an addiction to amphetamines for 26 years
– Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North begins public testimony at Iran-Contra hearing
– Kiwanis Clubs end men-only tradition, vote to admit women

Today’s list of songs will have some songs that you know very well, as well as other songs that you may have never heard of, or may have forgotten about. So let’s Return to the week ending July 12, 1987, and continue the UK countdown

This song was never released in the U.S. It would go on to reach #27 on this U.K. chart. According to Wikipedia, the song’s lyrics, as written by Robert Smith, were inspired when Smith caught a broadcast of the Sylvester Stallone written film ‘Rocky 2’ in which Rocky’s wife Adrian falls into a coma during childbirth. In a desperate hope to revive his wife, Rocky writes a poem for Adrian which at one point reads “…..and you kept trying to slip so I could catch you….”

Here is another worldwide smash hit. This song hit #1 in both the US and the UK, as well as several other countries. In addition to appearing on the Mannequin soundtrack, the song was also released on Starship’s album No Protection.

This is a cover of Gary Glitter’s 1977 song. Shakin’ Stevens had been recording music since the 1960’s. But, he didn’t hit it big until the ’80s. Then he would go on to be the UK’s biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s

This song was originally released in 1982, and would be Simple Minds’ first UK hit, reaching #13, and staying on the charts for 11 weeks. Then this live version would hit the charts again, coming off their 1987 album Live in the City of Light.

Nothing’s stopping ANYBODY in 1987! Earlier, Starship announced that nothing’s gonna stop us now, and now Samantha proclaims that nothing’s gonna stop me now. This is another song that did not chart very well in the US, but did better in the UK. However, I was very familiar with this song by one of my biggest 80s crushes. This song was off of Samantha Fox’s self-titled album, which also featured the hit song, “Naughty Girls (Need Love Too)”. There is not a bad song on that album.

I am noticing that quite a few reissues are making the charts in the UK this week. And they are all great songs! I absolutely love this 1967 #1 hit by Jackie Wilson! 20 years later, it would chart again in this countdown, reaching up to #15.

That wraps up today’s list of songs. I think I like today’s even more than yesterday’s. What are some of your favorites this week? I hope you are enjoying this countdown. We are halfway through. Come back tomorrow as we continue the countdown.

Hi Lads and Lasses! We are way overdue for a new Top 40 countdown! This week, we will take another trip across the pond, to the UK. And if you are in the UK already, look out, here we come! This week, we will take a look at what the Top 40 songs were this week in 1987, in the UK. For those of us in the U.S., there will be some familiar songs. There will also be plenty of songs that didn’t hit it big in the U.S. As usual, you can click on the song title to get the YouTube video of the song, and you can click on the album cover to buy or listen to the song on Amazon. So, let’s Return to the week ending July 12, 1987, and get the countdown started!

This is an electronic instrumental. I don’t listen to today’s EDM. Or maybe if I do hear it, I black out from the pain of that crap going into my ears. This song is OK since it has a small sample of “Axel F” in it.

This is a pretty good freestyle song by Joyce Sims, who hails from Rochester New York. She never hit it too big in the U.S. This song did reach up to #23 on the U.S. R&B charts, but did not chart on the mainstream Billboard Hot 100. But, it reached up to #34 on the U.K. charts. She is still around, with her most recent album being released in 2014.

This song was originally recorded in 1973 by Ronnie Dyson, then made popular in 1974 by The Main Ingredient. This reggae version by Freddie McGregor became a huge hit in the U.K. reaching all the way up to #9.

This was Living in a Box’s follow-up single to their self-titled single. It did not chart at all in the U.S., but reached #30 on the U.K charts. I’m really digging this song. It’s a very cool, upbeat song that sticks with you.

Here’s a song that hit it big everywhere. This was Jody Watley’s debut solo single. In 1987, she won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Originally, Watley was a member of Shalamar, who are huge in England. I still can’t figure out why they don’t have a huge audience here.

This song by the synth-pop duo, Erasure, was a huge hit in the U.K., reaching all the way to #7. It did not chart at all on the Billboard Hot 100. They would have to wait for “Chains of Love” the following year for that.

This song was a worldwide smash hit for the Australian band. It was nominated for Best Group Video, and Best Direction at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards, and earned the group a Best New Artist award. This song was also covered by Paul Young in 1991, and by Sixpence None the Richer in 2003.

What the hell?!?!? Why have I not heard of this version before? I love the Bee Gees, and love this song. But, I had never heard about this super group, Boogie Box High. It consists of guitarist Nick Heyward (of Haircut One Hundred), keyboardist Mick Talbot (of The Style Council), guitarist–songwriter David Austin, bassist Deon Estus, and a singer you may have heard of – George Michael!

Well, that wraps up today’s list of songs. What do you think so far? Any new songs you hadn’t heard before? Come back tomorrow for some more gems.

Welcome back to this week’s countdown! If you missed the previous songs, you can go back and check out 40-31, 30-21, and 20-11. This has been a great week of music so far, and it continues today. It was so good, that we will be coming back with another countdown next week, with a twist! We will Return to the top 40 countdown for the week of March 6-12, from the UK! I know there is a huge following here of folks from the U.K. So they will get to relive their past, and 80s fans from the U.S. may discover music that did not make it over here for one reason or another. But first thing’s first. Let’s Return to the week ending February 28, 1987, and check out the top 10 songs of this week.

Peter Gabriel had some groundbreaking videos in the late ’80s. Which means that they were on MTV every other song. Which also means that I couldn’t stand it! I was dreading listening to this again, but now I’m liking it a little more.

Between this, and Janet Jackson’s “Let’s Wait Awhile” earlier in the countdown, all we need to do is substitute Samantha Fox’s “Touch Me” with Jermaine Stewart’s “We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off”, and we would have a perfect countdown for a Catholic school dance.

Bon Jovi had a huge hit with “You Give Love a Bad Name”. But, this ’80s anthem is the one that changed them forever. When you say the words “’80s music” to somebody, this is one of a handful of songs that would immediately come to mind. This is totally deserving of the #1 spot, and a great way to end the countdown.

That’s it for this week. I hope you enjoyed this countdown. Please let me know your thoughts. And as I mentioned earlier, we will be coming right back next week with the UK Top 40 from 1983. Until then, Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars.

Welcome back to this week’s countdown! If you missed the previous songs, you can go back and check out 40-31 and 30-21. Here are some fun facts about 1987:

– Average Cost of new house $92,000
– Average Income per year $24,350.00
– Average Price for new car $10,3055.00
– 1 gallon of gas 89 cents
– The Food and Drug Administration approves anti-AIDS drug AZT.
– The First Criminal convicted using DNA Evidence Robert Melias in England
– Work on the Channel Tunnel joining UK and France begins
– Clive Sinclair launches the Z88 Portable Computer weighing under 2 LBS
– 1987 is shortened by 1 second to adjust to the Gregorian calender
– Disposable Contact Lenses became available for commercial distribution

Now, let’s Return to the week ending February 28, 1987, and continue the countdown.

The ballads continue. A lot of people gave Journey crap for their Raised on Radio album. But, I loved that album, and this was a great ballad off of it. I also liked the concert videos they released at the time, including this one.

Right back at ya, Samantha. Right back at ya. Although I was a huge rock fan back then, I did love all of Samantha Fox’s songs. There wasn’t a bad song on her first three albums. So, let’s sum things up:
Samantha Fox > Bruce Hornsby. There, I said it!

That wraps up today’s list of songs. I hope you’re still enjoying this countdown. Tomorrow we will find out what the biggest hits on the Billboard 100 were this week, 31 years ago. As usual, I would love to hear your thoughts on this music, and what you were doing at this time.

Welcome back to this week’s countdown! If you missed the previous songs, you can go back and check them out. We were off to a great start yesterday. So, let’s Return to the week ending February 28, 1987, and see if it continues to be just as good.

Understandibly, this is Europe’s signature song. This is the epitome of ’80s rock, complete with keyboards, guitar, soaring vocals, and big hair. But, Europe is so much more than this song. They have several other great songs (just on this album alone).

I still love this worldwide smash hit from Starship. It was featured in the movie Mannequin. Yesterday, in my opening segment, I mentioned having a girlfriend at this time. We went to see Mannequin in the theater. However, we were in the back of the theater making out most of the time, so I have no idea what happened. I’ll have to go check out that movie again.

That wraps up today’s list of songs. So far I’m loving it this week! How about you? Come back tomorrow as we continue the countdown.

Hi Everybody! We are back this week with another Top 40 Countdown! This week, we Return to 1987. This was one of the best periods in my life. I was in my junior year of high school. I was actually doing decent in school, finally. I had met a girl who would be a great girlfriend around this time. And music, movies, and TV shows were outstanding. So, “let’s go”, and Return to the week ending February 28, 1987, and begin the countdown. As usual, you can click on the song title to watch the video, and you can click onthe album cover to listen or purchase the song on Amazon.

Yeesh, this is a timely song title right now. I had forgotten about this song. This song also mentions the album title – Whiplash Smile. I always thought it was cool when there was no title track, but a song on the album had the title in the lyrics.

This was a huge hit for Robbie Nevil, reaching all the way up to #2 on the Hot 100. I was very much into rock at this point, so I didn’t care much for it. It didn’t help that it was constantly on the airwaves.

I love Boston! They were on fire in the late ’70s with back-to-back smash albums. However, it then took 8 years to release their 3rd album, Third Stage. It was another great album. But, what I remember most was when I bought the cassette, and in the liner notes, there were all kinds of excuses of why it took so long to release this album. Even back then, I thought that was strange.

We’ll close out today with another song I had never heard of before. I’ve been missing out! This song was off of Jeff Lorber’s Private Passion album. In 1988, Karyn White would go on to release her debut album, and had a great run as a solo artist.

Well, that wraps up today’s list of songs. Any favorites so far, or any forgotten hits for you? What were you doing at this time in 1987? I’d love to hear from you! Come back tomorrow as we continue the countdown.

Welcome back everybody! If you missed the previous songs, you can check out songs 40-31, 30-21 and 20-11. Today we wrap up this week’s countdown. What a great week of music! Let’s get right to it, Return to the week ending August 8, 1987, and conclude the countdown.

I feel like this took over “Barracuda” as Heart’s signature song. As often as it get’s played, I still love it. Ann Wilson has one of the greatest voices in rock history, and it really shows with this song.

The Jets had a huge run from the mid to late ’80s. This is a fun song, featured on the Beverly Hills Cop II soundtrack. The original band consisted of eight brothers and sisters (out of 17!). The band name is named after the Elton John song, “Bennie and the Jets.”

O eh, o eh, o eh, oo aah O eh, o eh, o eh, oo aah
The rhythm got me! I’m still liking Gloria Estefan. I also love that she now does the theme song for the One Day at a Time reboot – a show that I can’t recommend enough. You should be interested in just the fact alone that the show has an actual theme song. If you miss the late ’70s/early ’80s sitcoms, check it out.

I love this song. The geek in me makes me kind of partial as this band is named after a vulcan from an episode of the original Star Trek series. This band is still around, and just released a new album in 2015, called Pleasure & Pain.

This is my favorite Bob Seger song! This Beverly Hills Cop II soundtrack was flat-out awesome! This is the second song, from the soundtrack, in this top 10. And we aren’t done yet! This is a great song for that movie, and goes hand-in-hand with “The Heat is On” from the original movie.

This is the third song from the Beverly Hills Cop II soundtrack. It was also off of George Michael’s legendary Faith album. This is another artist we lost too soon. I was really hoping for a comeback from him.

This was the second song released from U2’s successful album, The Joshua Tree. This song is a critical darling, for sure. A lot of people had fallen off the U2 bandwagon by this point, but I would stay on board a while longer.

Well, that wraps up this week’s countdown. I hope you enjoyed it. I’d love to hear what you think. I plan on doing more of these in the near future. Until next time, Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars.

Welcome back everybody! If you missed the previous songs, you can check out songs 40-31 and 30-21. I don’t know about you, but I’m loving the countdown this week! And as usual, if you want to watch/listen to the YouTube video, you can click on the song title. If you’d like to listen to/purchase this song from Amazon, you can click onthe album cover. Now let’s Return to the week ending August 8, 1987, and continue the countdown!

I love all of Fleetwood Mac’s stuff, no matter who’s singing. But, Stevie Nicks is definitely my favorite. She takes the lead on this awesome song from Mac’s final studio album with the classic lineup, Tango in the Night.

This is my favorite Starship song. And just as Fleetwood Mac had come out with their final album with the classic lineup, No Protection was Starship’s final album with Grace Slick. So, I guess it was over for her.

I had never heard this version of the song in my life, and I never heard of this group. But, I’m loving this! This a cappella group covers the classic Steam song, “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye,” here. And I think they do a helluva job!

Even though Steve Winwood had been around for a while, this was the first time I was aware of him. Even though I was more into hard rock in these days, I did like all of Winwood’s music. He also gets a little help from James Taylor on backing vocals in this song.

In the previous song, while I was crushing on Debbie, I forgot to mention that “Only in My Dreams” was her debut single. And now we have another debut single. Richard Marx was already a great songwriter. But, he went on a great run, in the late ’80s, as a performer.